§ Mr. Lomasasked the Minister of Health whether he is yet in a position to make a statement about the results of investigations into a possible link between oral contraceptives and thrombo-embolism.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonA series of investigations has been undertaken by the Committee on Safety of Drugs, the College of General Practitioners and the Medical Research Council in order to examine the possibility that the use of oral contraceptives might be associated with an increased risk of thrombo-embolic conditions.
The Medical Research Council has recently reported to me that the results of these studies suggest that a woman taking such contraceptives incurs a slightly increased risk of developing thrombo-embolic disorders but that the risk is small and less than that which arises from the ordinary pregnancy and delivery which these contraceptives are intended to prevent. It must, moreover, be realised that all women of childbearing age are at risk of developing these conditions whether or not they are taking oral contraceptives—as are men of the same age group.
The Council informs me that the risk of thrombo-embolic conditions arising from the taking of oral contraceptives cannot be precisely quantified at the present time but further data are being collected with this object in mind. The report of the preliminary studies will be published as soon as possible.
The Committee on Safety of Drugs, which considered this information, has advised me that since oral contraceptives possess considerable therapeutic as well as social value it does not feel justified in recommending their withdrawal from the market on the grounds of thrombo-embolic risk, as long as they are available only on medical prescription, and 29W doctors are aware of the slight risk involved. The Committee points out that pharmacological activity and toxicity are Inseparable and that on present evidence the risk is specifically less than the risk of thrombo-embolic episodes associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
The Committee has been greatly assisted by doctors who, in response to its appeal, have reported thrombo-embolic conditions in women of childbearing age and they rely upon continued reporting by all doctors for the further elucidation of this problem.